Pema Chödrön (formerly known as Deirdre Blomfield-Brown) is a renowned Buddhist monk and teacher of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhist principles in the west since the 1970s. For Unconditional Confidence, Sounds True's Tami Simon interviewed Chödrön in Crescent, Colorado, "with the occasional sound wind chimes," before a live audience. In laying out the groundwork for practicing unconditional confidence, Chödrön frequently mentions her teacher Chogyam Rinpoche, who notes that "the root of confidence is gentleness to oneself." When Simon asks her to "unpack the term" on the first disc, Chödrön notes: "It comes from unconditional friendliness with oneself, being brave enough to stick to yourself through thick and thin. The complex issue is to stay with it when we don't like what we see." That's where meditation comes in, as it involves "getting very, very familiar with oneself."

"Maybe before meditation you never saw the extent with which you criticize things," Chödrön says, helping listeners locate the willingness to "train in acknowledging the harshness—being more tender and vulnerable, that's where the confidence comes from." Gentleness is a "combination of discipline and kindness." With a calm voice that makes you think it's all going to be all right, Chödrön lays this all out with the precision of a master teacher: "Bring a light awareness to the breath going out—and that's your object of meditation."Chödrön notes that present-day crises can work to make us aware of the way nervous anxiety informs our daily life: "We have a culture built on ignoring ubiquitous nervousness: The minute you feel it, you can whip out your cell phone, you can reach for the 900-millionth song on your iPod, but when things are falling apart," she notes, "then you have to work with it."

With Unconditional Confidence, Pema Chödrön supplies the tools for learning how to accept and love the things you hide from in yourself, and, once that's accomplished, be free to face the world without flinching or averting your eyes. It's a bold promise, perhaps, but Chödrön's methods are centuries-tested, and as a former elementary school teacher, she shows that she still has a gift for breaking down difficult concepts, making daunting challenges inviting.